Antiwar activists took to the streets on June 5 to protest the Israeli army’s attack on seven boats carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. At least nine volunteer aid workers were reported killed and dozens seriously wounded. One Israeli soldier was stabbed and two were beaten, according to news reports.

Israel has banned all but basic humanitarian aid from entering Gaza—home to 1.6 million Palestinians—for more than three years in an effort to combat Hamas. The attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla has been deemed by critics an act of piracy carried out in international waters.

The protest was sponsored by several organizations, including the ANSWER Coalition, Palestine Youth Network, U.S. Palestinian Community Network, International Solidarity Movement, Arab Resource & Organizing Center and Arab Community and Cultural Center

June 5 also marks the 43rd anniversary of the beginning of 1967’s Six-Day War when Israel launched a preemptive attack on Egypt. The Arab states of Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Algeria denied planning to attack Israel, and asserted that Israel’s strike was not preemptive but an unwarranted and illegal act of aggression. By the end of the war Israel had gained control of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Golan Heights. Israel continues to occupy these territories.